Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaiʻi established by the Bernice Pauhi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop,[7] a descendant of Kamehameha the Great and a part of the House of Kamehameha. Bishop's will established a trust called the "Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate" that is Hawaiʻi's largest private landowner.[8] Originally established in 1887 as an all-boys school on the grounds of the current Bishop Museum, it opened its girls' school in 1894 and became coeducational in 1965. The 600-acre (2.4 km2) Kapālama campus opened in 1931, while the Maui and Hawaiʻi campuses opened in 1996 and 2001, respectively.[9] . It was developed to educate children of Hawaiʻian descent, and is designed to serve students from preschool through twelfth grade. The school teaches in the English language a college-prep education enhanced by Hawaiian culture, language and practices, imparting historical and practical value of continuing Hawaiian traditions. It operates 31 preschools statewide and three grade K–12 campuses in Kapālama, Oʻahu, Pukalani, Maui, and Keaʻau, Hawaiʻi.

The schools' admissions policy prefers applicants with Native Hawaiian ancestry and has excluded all but two non-Hawaiians from attending since 1965. A lawsuit challenging the school's admission policy resulted in a narrow victory for Kamehameha in the Ninth Circuit Court; however, Kamehameha ultimately settled, paying the plaintiff $7 million.[8]

As of the 2011–12 school year, Kamehameha had an enrollment of 5,398 students at its three campuses and 1,317 children at its preschools, for a total enrollment of 6,715.[4] Beyond its campuses, Kamehameha served an estimated 46,923 Hawaiians in 2011 through its support for public schools, charter schools, and families and caregivers throughout Hawaii.[10]

In 1883, Bernice Pauahi Bishop directed that the remainder of her estate be held in trust "to erect and maintain in the Hawaiian Islands two schools... one for boys and one for girls, to be known as, and called the Kamehameha Schools". Part of the Bishop estate was inherited from her cousin Ruth Keʻelikōlani, who had inherited a substantial amount from Kamehameha V. Both Bernice and Ruth had also inherited a portion of the Lunalilo/Kanaina estates, the largest land owners of their time.

Bernice named Samuel Mills Damon, William Owen Smith, Charles Montague Cooke, Charles McEwen Hyde, and her husband, Charles Reed Bishop, as the original five trustees to invest her estate at their discretion, use the income to operate the schools, and also "to devote a portion of each year's income to the support and education of orphans, and others in indigent circumstances, giving the preference to Hawaiians of pure or part aboriginal blood." She also directed the Hawaiʻi (Kingdom) Supreme Court to appoint replacement trustees and required that all teachers be Protestant, without regard to denomination.[7]

After Bishop's death in 1884, her husband Charles Reed Bishop carried out her will. Reverend William Brewster Oleson (1851–1915), former principal of the Hilo boarding school founded by David Belden Lyman in 1836, helped organize the schools on a similar model.[11]:46 The original Kamehameha School for Boys opened in 1887 on a site currently occupied by Bishop Museum. The girls' school opened nearby in 1894. The preparatory school, originally serving grades K–6, opened in 1888 adjacent to the boys' school. By 1955, all three schools had moved to the current 600-acre (2.4 km2) campus in Kapālama Heights.[9] In 1996, the 180-acre (0.73 km2) campus on Maui opened, followed by the 300-acre (1.2 km2) campus on Hawaiʻi in 2001.

In 1991, The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought suit against Kamehameha Schools alleging that its requirement that all teachers be Protestant was religious discrimination in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[12] Although Kamehameha Schools conceded the practice was discriminatory, the School maintained that it was bound by the provisions of Bernice Pauahi Bishop's will which established the charitable trust creating the School as well as mandating that all the teachers "be persons of the Protestant religion."[13] Accordingly, the School sought to fall within one of the applicable exemptions to the Civil Rights Act. The United States District Court for the District of Hawaii found in the School's favor ruling that the religious education exemption, the religious curriculum exemption and the bona fide occupational qualification exemption were each applicable to Kamehameha Schools.[13] The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the decision of the District Court holding that none of the exemptions to the Civil Rights Act were applicable since the School was essentially a secular and not primarily a religious institution despite certain historical traditions that included Protestantism.[14] As a result, the requirement that all teachers be Protestant was held to be a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

According to the will, the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi appointed trustees. After the overthrow of the government and the "annexation" of the Territory, State Supreme Court assumed that responsibility. However, many trustees were political insiders, and by 1997 trustees were paid $800,000 to $900,000 annually.[15] At that time, critics alleged that the trustees were micromanaging the schools. Trustees were appointed "lead trustee" of a particular part of estate operations. In particular, Lokelani Lindsey, lead trustee for educational affairs, was blamed for low morale among students and faculty.

On August 12, 1997, Governor Ben Cayetano directed Attorney General Margery Bronster to perform a preliminary investigation into the allegations. In her report on September 10, 1997, she found that "the rights of the beneficiaries may be at substantial risk," and that there were "credible allegations that the intent of Bernice Pauahi Bishop is not being implemented."[17] Another essay appeared in November, with Brandt, UH Professor Isabella Abbott, respected Hawaiian cultural educator Winona Beamer, and others as authors. Its headline was "Tyranny, distrust, poor decisions reign at Kamehameha".[18]

The investigation continued through 1998, when Bronster sought the permanent removal of Lindsey and fellow trustees Richard Wong and Henry Peters. On May 6, 1999, after a six-month trial, Lindsey was permanently removed as trustee (Lindsey later appealed her removal). A day later, trustees Wong, Peters, and Gerard Jervis were also temporarily removed. The fifth trustee, Oswald Stender, voluntarily resigned. An interim board was appointed by the Hawaii Probate Court to run the estate.

Bronster had been re-appointed by Cayetano who was a Democrat, and since twenty-three of the twenty-five senators were Democrats, some political observers thought approval of Bronster's renomination would be assured. However, the investigation proved costly for Bronster, whose confirmation was defeated by the Hawaii State Senate on April 28, 1999 by a vote of 14-11.[19]:256–257

Things finally started to change when the US Internal Revenue Service retroactively revoked Bishop Estate's tax exempt status for the trustees breach of duties and unlawful use of tax exempt charitable trust assets for political lobbying, triggering about $1 billion in back taxes and penalties.[19]:254

Jervis resigned permanently on August 20, 1999. The trials for permanent removal of the remaining three trustees were set for December 13, 1999. Wong offered his permanent resignation on December 3, 1999; Peters did the same on December 13; and Lindsey voluntarily resigned on December 17. Many of the court files relating to Bishop Estate were ordered sealed citing the need for "closure and healing."[19]:281

The replacement Bishop Estate trustees continued to use the same attorneys and law firms as their predecessors. Deputy attorneys general tried to explain to the replacement trustees that these attorneys and law firms either provided flawed legal advice or stood by silently while they ignored good advice. Some claimed "there had been no thorough housecleaning; instead, the old guard had been put in charge and handed the keys."[19]:268 In 2002, the Hawaii Supreme Court threw out the criminal indictments against three Bishop Estate trustees on procedural grounds and ruled no new charges could be brought.[20]

In 2005 two of the authors of the newspaper series published a book about the issues in this investigation.[19] In 2009, after a large decline in the endowment, trustee compensation ranged from $97,500 to $125,000 per year, and trustees turned down any pay increases.[15]

Kamehameha Schools operates three campuses, which together served 5,398 students K-12 in the 2011–12 school year. The main campus, established in 1887 as the Kamehameha Schools for Boys, occupies 600 acres (2.4 km2) on Kapālama Heights in Honolulu and served 3,200 students, including 550 boarding students from neighbor islands. The campus has more than 70 buildings, including numerous classroom buildings, dormitories, and maintenance shops. It also features extensive athletic facilities, including a 3,000-seat stadium, an Olympic-size swimming pool, three gymnasiums, and several tennis courts.[4] In 2010, Kamehameha undertook a $118.5 million construction project featuring a brand-new middle school, a Hawaiian cultural center, a new athletics building, and a parking structure. While the Kaʻiwakīloumoku Hawaiian Cultural Center was opened in October 2012,[21] the entire project is expected to be completed in 2013.[22][23]

The 180 acres (0.73 km2) Maui campus, established in 1996 in Pukalani, served 1,084 students. The 300 acres (1.2 km2) campus on the island of Hawaiʻi, established in 2001 in Keaʻau, served 1,118 students. In addition to three campuses, Kamehameha Schools operates thirty-one preschools throughout Hawaiʻi, which served 1,317 students statewide.[4]

The five-member Board of Trustees of the Estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop administers the Schools. Each trustee may serve up to two five-year terms. The 1999 reorganization limited Board micromanagement. A Chief Executive Officer manages day-to-day operations and has autonomy over educational matters.

Bishop's original bequest consisted of 375,000 acres (1,520 km2) of land worth around $474,000. A 1995 Wall Street Journal article described Bishop Estate as "the nation's wealthiest charity," with an endowment estimated at $10 billion - greater than the combined endowments of Harvard and Yale universities.[24] As of June 2011, the endowment was US$9.06 billion.[10] Approximately 75% of the endowment is in financial assets, and 25% is in real estate (as of 22 October 2013 KS announced it would be selling the buildings (not the underlying lands - Helumoa) of its largest single (in terms of value) real estate property, the Royal Hawaiian Center, that lucrative shopping complex encompassing three blocks of prime Waikiki real estate on Kalakua Avenue) ; over 365,000 acres (1,480 km2) remain. However, the book value of the land for accounting purposes is probably much lower than fair market value.[25] When compared against the endowments of major U.S. colleges and universities, only six schools (Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, Princeton University, University of Texas System, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology), each with much higher enrollments, have higher endowments than Kamehameha Schools.[26]

Because Kamehameha Schools is a private school, admission is by application. At the Kapālama campus, the process is highly selective. Acceptance rates range from approximately 6.7% to 14.7% depending on the grade for which a student applies. Acceptance rates at the Maui and Hawaiʻi campuses are generally higher, ranging from approximately 9.2% to 24%, due to those islands' smaller populations and the lack of boarding students.[27]

In accordance with a century-old interpretation of the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Kamehameha Schools prefers applicants of Native Hawaiian descent "to the extent permitted by law." Orphans and indigents receive special consideration.[27] Preference applicants must submit evidence verifying that at least one of their pre-1959 ancestors is Hawaiian.[28]

The schools' admissions policy has been a subject of controversy. Because far more applicants claim Hawaiian ancestry than the schools can admit, virtually all students have some Hawaiian blood. Non-Hawaiians have attended, but this is extremely rare. In 2002, Kamehameha admitted one non-Hawaiian student, Kalani Rosell, to its Maui campus, for the first time in 40 years. Rosell was admitted after all qualified Hawaiian applicants had been admitted. This decision sparked alumni protest.[citation needed]

Kamehameha's admissions policy was the focus of two federal lawsuits, which contended that preferring Native Hawaiians is a race-based exclusion that violates U.S. civil rights law. Both lawsuits have since settled.

The plaintiff in one suit, filed by attorney John Goemans in August 2003, was Brayden Gay Mohica-Cummings, a seventh-grader admitted to Kapālama Heights after his mother, who is the hānai (adopted) daughter of a Hawaiian family,[29] said he was Hawaiian. The school rescinded its offer when his mother was unable to document his ancestry.[30] Because Kamehameha rescinded the offer only a week before the school year started, District Judge David Ezra issued a temporary restraining order requiring Kamehameha to admit Mohica-Cummings. The case was settled out-of-court in November 2003, when Kamehameha Schools agreed to let Mohica-Cummings attend, in exchange for dropping the lawsuit.[30]

Another lawsuit, filed by Goemans in June 2003 on behalf of an unidentified non-Hawaiian student, claimed that preferring Hawaiian applicants violates a federal statute prohibiting racial discrimination in private contracts. In November, District Judge Alan Cooke Kay dismissed the lawsuit, finding that Kamehameha Schools' policy served a "legitimate, remedial purpose by improving native Hawaiians' socioeconomic and educational disadvantages".[31]

In August 2005, however, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit of Appeals reversed 2–1, ruling the policy racially exclusionary.[32] A protest march to ʻIolani Palace and rally on the palace grounds attracted an estimated 10–15,000 participants,[33] including Hawaiʻi's governor and lieutenant governor.[34]

The Ninth Circuit agreed to rehear the appeal before a 15-judge en banc panel in February 2006.[35] On December 5, 2006, by a vote of 8–7, the en banc panel reversed the earlier decision by the three-judge panel, affirming Kay's ruling.

The majority ruled that Kamehameha's policy does not run afoul of a civil rights law, citing what it said were unique factors in the history of Hawaiʻi, the plight of Native Hawaiians and the schools' distinctively remedial mission, which Congress has repeatedly endorsed. The dissent stated that civil rights law "prohibits a private school from denying admission to prospective students because of their race", and was very skeptical of the majority interpretation, stating, "The fact that Congress has passed some measures promoting Native Hawaiian education says nothing about whether Congress intended to exempt Native Hawaiian schools from § 1981 [civil rights law]".

Following the decision, attorneys appealed to the United States Supreme Court. However, before the Supreme Court decided whether to hear the case, Doe v. Kamehameha was also settled. Both this settlement and the Ninth Circuit's decision prompted a procession at the Kapalama High School, leading to an all-school assembly. On February 8, 2008, Goemans disclosed that the amount of the settlement was $7 million USD.[8]

On August 6, 2008, Kamehameha announced that it had sued John Doe for releasing the settlement amount.[36] On the same day, John Doe's attorneys, Eric Grant and David Rosen, filed another lawsuit against Kamehameha on behalf of four non-Hawaiian children who wanted to attend the school.[37]

All three of Kamehameha's campuses are college-preparatory and offer honors courses. In addition, the Kapālama campus offers 15[38]Advanced Placement courses, while the Hawaiʻi campus offers four.[39] The Kapālama high school administered 344 Advanced Placement exams in 2014.[40]

Upperclass students at the Maui and Hawaiʻi high schools select a "Career Academy" based on their individual interests. They develop course schedules designed to enhance skills for potential careers within their academy's scope. Currently, the campuses offer academies for arts and communication, business and leadership, engineering and design, health and wellness, and science and natural resources.

Approximately 70% of Kamehameha graduates enroll in four-year universities, while 25% enroll in two-year colleges or technical schools. Students in the 2010 graduating class of the Kapālama campus had an average composite SAT score of 1560 out of 2400.[41] In the 2014 graduating class, there were 4 National Merit semi-finalists and 9 commended students.[42]

Kamehameha offers several distance learning programs for high school students, adults, and educators to learn Hawaiian language and culture over the Internet. The program includes an archived series of instructional videos entitled Kulāiwi for learning the Hawaiian language that are available for free online streaming.[43] Kamehameha also operates Kamehameha Publishing, which prints and sells Hawaiian books, posters, multimedia.[44]

Kamehameha also offers several programs and services for high school graduates. Along with the Ke Aliʻi Pauahi Foundation, Kamehameha offers a variety of need- and merit-based scholarships for those pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate education. Its career counseling program provides advice and counseling for post-high school students and operates an internship program for various companies statewide. The First Nations' Futures Program, operated in conjunction with Stanford University and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is a fellowship program designed to develop "a select team of emerging leaders... to become significant community contributors in natural, cultural and land stewardship."[45]

Held annually in March, the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest is an a cappella choral competition between the graduating high school classes of the Kapālama campus. Students participate as a graduation requirement. Each class, directed by one of its students, sings Hawaiian songs as a single, cohesive choir. Each class sings a coed arrangement, and students in grades 10–12 perform a men's and a women's song. Five judges evaluate the musical performance and use of the Hawaiian language. After the hōʻike, an exhibition of hula and Hawaiian music, six trophies are awarded to the best performances.